The best restaurants Northern Macedonia

This restaurant (Софија Ја-Kи) is located in a wooden cottage by the main road. Warm atmosphere, local seasonal dishes (wild mushrooms, game...) and good traditional cuisine(tavče gravče, šopska salata...). The main source of "stinking water" is located nearby. Also in the hamlet, you can also eat at the restaurant Icic/Ициц (+389 70 809 888). Several guesthouses also offer meals to their guests, such as Villa Katerina (+389 71 25 18 56) or, a little further away, Villa Igor Linkov (+389 71 20 71 46).

Founded in 1968, the "gras" restaurant (Ресторан Мрс) is renowned for its bell-cooked meats(sač) and recipes with Maleševo cheeses. It's good, well presented and not very expensive. The room is not very large and warm, and the service is fast. Still, we're a bit surprised to see that just getting wine poured into glasses is charged MKD 200. How petty! But we highly recommend this address, including the hearty and gourmet "Maleševo" breakfast menu. Some rooms available for rent.

The restaurant "Chez Mamie Tsana" (Кај Баба Цана) is an institution since 1921. It is one of the busiest addresses in the center of Kumanovo. It serves grilled meats, soups, salads and specialties of the Macedonian community cooked in ceramic pots: the very local mezel'k/мезел'к (simmered pork giblets), the house recipe of "Grandma Tsana's pot" (chicken and pork with onions) or the iconic national dish, tavče gravče (beans with bacon). Nice old-fashioned decor, terrace, small prices and warm atmosphere.

Placed on the banks of the Pčinja River, this restaurant (Eтно Cело Тимчевски) is famous for its grilled meats, fresh fish, traditional dishes and musical evenings on weekends. It attracts both families and companies that have meeting rooms here. The reception rooms (150 seats) are well decorated and the large terrace (250 seats) overlooks a pleasant green area with a playground for children. The establishment also has a space for 5 motor homes and 13 rooms. But the latter are poorly maintained.

This restaurant (Ресторан Квин) is pleasantly located in a valley above Ljubanci. It has large tanks where carp and trout are raised. These are served whole and fried, ideally for 2-3 people. Also on the menu: salads, desserts and good, melting grilled or bell-cooked(sač) meats. The place is usually quite crowded on weekends. The staff is then quickly overwhelmed and orders sometimes take more than an hour. So it's better to come during the week, it's nicer.

This restaurant is run by Borka and Pavle Lukanovski, nicknamed Baba and Dede (Баба и Деде). They are among the very few inhabitants to live in Galičnik year-round, completely isolated during the coldest six months. Helped by their children in summer, they offer good, purely local dishes, i.e. much the same as at Hotel Neda, but here it's more family-style (the cheese, lamb, eggs and rakija are homemade). You can sleep on site: the rooms are fairly modern and comfortable, with WiFi and good bathroom facilities.

This bar-restaurant is slightly set back from Ilinden Boulevard, alongside the City Park (bus 8 or 15a, "Zooloshka Gradina" stop). It's a surprising mix of kafana (tavern) and concert hall. The establishment has won several awards for the best hamburger in Skopje. On the menu are a dozen burgers (including a vegetarian version), as well as meats, appetizers and salads. Evening concerts Wednesday to Saturday, local and foreign beers, terrace overlooking the park.

Founded in 2015, this microbrewery is best known for its location: next to Saint-Sauveur church. While foreign visitors generally appreciate the beers produced here (a pilsner, an IPA, a porter and a white), we, for our part, find them a little bland. This was originally a bar-restaurant. But the high menu prices (burgers, pizzas, grills...) often seem out of proportion to the quality. In any case, the establishment is pleasant with its terrace overlooking Skopje's prettiest church.

Located on Macedonia Street, next to the Mother Teresa memorial house, this fast-food kiosk founded in 1970 (Тетекс) has become a small chain with seven addresses across the conurbation. Here, the tiny "motherhouse" offers burgers, sausages, pljeskavica and ćevapi to take away. Some of the branches are a little more spacious, with tables for eating in and a few salads, soups and even tavče gravče. This is notably the case at Teteks in Stara Čaršija's Pit Pazar, on the eastern shore.

This restaurant (Пепсито) is very pleasant with its small terrace on the cobblestones of the promenade along the Dragor, at the entrance to charchia. The menu goes to the essentials: grilled meats and salads. The food is good and the waiters are efficient and smiling. What we don't understand, however, is why there's only one restaurant along this promenade, despite it being the nicest place in town. There's just one other tiny terrace a little further along, that of the Ulaf Ste café (Улаф Сте, daily 8am-0am, Sunday until 6pm).

This panoramic restaurant (Аурора Козјак) offers grandiose views of Lake Kozjak. People also come here for its good food, with local recipes and international dishes that are quite rare in the country, such as T-bone, tartare or carpaccio. Prices are a little high (some pieces of beef are over 1,500 MKD), but on the whole it's still affordable. The terrace is, of course, superbly pleasant, as is the indoor dining room, with its well-crafted wood and mineral decor and large picture windows. Enough to enjoy the scenery even in winter.

This traditional restaurant (Градска Кафеана Кај Џоле) is a little hard to find: on Maksim-Gorki Street coming from Macedonia Square with a street entrance (opposite the Swiss Embassy), then a corridor to the courtyard. But it's one of the few good addresses in the city center. It's an old kafana well known to Skopians for its wines, folk music groups and local and Balkan specialties: pork on the spit (reservations required, MKD 1,200/kg), fried zucchini, trout, salads..

This bakery (Силбо Фурна) is well known to night owls. In the middle of the night, you can order a meat or cheese burek, an "upside-down pita" (Вртена Пита/Vrtena Pita), makedonska pita (cheese and chard pie), pastrmalija (the "Macedonian pizza") and all kinds of puff pastries and sandwiches. It is located to the south of Debar Maalo, in a small street off Partizanski-Odredi Boulevard, opposite the Faculty of Civil Engineering. Bus^no. 2, 4, 7, 11, 12, 15, etc. ("Gradežen Fakultet" stop).

The Cerera bakery (Пекара Церера) is well placed for a quick meal or breakfast on the go right in the center of town. It prepares the best burek in town. This specialty of Ottoman origin with phyllo dough is eaten hot, made à la minute. There are several versions to choose from: with spinach, cheese or marinated lamb. Going up Širok-Sokak, towards the clock tower, you can test the difference with Bitola's other good burek address: Fresh (Фреш), 13, rue Petar-Petrovikj-Njegoš (daily 5am-5pm).

Surrounded by a beautiful forest, this family-run restaurant (Ресторан Костенче) is located at the entrance to the Dame-Gruev Memorial Park, above the village of Smilevo. On the pretty little terrace are served traditional dishes from the region (including a very good pita), cheese accompanied by pitulici (small doughnuts), grilled meats and meat dishes, salads, rather good French fries and a few desserts including homemade candied fruit. Around the village, which houses the Smilevo Museum, you'll find several abandoned monasteries.

Located near Bit Pazar, this grill restaurant founded in 1952 (Ќебапчилница Космос, Qebaptore Kosmos) is Skopiotes' favorite in Stara Čarsija. But it's no-frills: ćevapi (MKD 240 per ten), homemade bread, roasted peppers, šopksa salad, tavče gravče (MKD 160) and that's about it. However, it's definitely more authentic and better than in the more touristy establishments in the southern part of the district. Tiny street terrace on sunny days and small room with minimalist decor.

We love this restaurant's terrace overlooking a large sandy beach on Lake Debar. The menu is also pretty good, with stewed Albanian dishes (very similar to Macedonian cuisine), farmed trout, grilled meats, squid, salads, oriental desserts and the famous Tirana-style trilece. After all that, you can go for a swim (the lake water is 23°C in summer... but 5°C in winter) or rent a canoe or small boat nearby. Perfect for a stopover on the road between Ohrid and Skopje.

Perched at an altitude of 1,335 m, near the village of Lisec/Лисец, the "Šar paradise" restaurant offers magnificent views over Tetovo and the Polog plain. Good Albanian and Macedonian dishes from the Šar mountains, veal and grilled meats, salads, home-grown trout and the house specialty, tavë sharrit, a beef cassolette simmered with cheese, shallots, peppers and mushrooms, are served in the large garden or panoramic rooms. Children's playground, small museum and friendly waiters.

This restaurant (Амбасадор) is reputed to be the best in Radoviš: it is said to be the place where distinguished guests of the town hall and ambassadors visiting the town come to eat. In any case, it serves good local specialties like stuffed wild rabbit(zajak), samun (a kind of pizza) and burek(banica). The latter is filled with leek, cheese and seasoned with the famous black salt with crushed poppy seeds. Also on the menu: grilled meats, salads, cheeses, etc. Pleasant terrace and large interior room.

This restaurant (Ресторан Панорама) enjoys a beautiful view of the Vardar spring and surrounding mountains. It serves mainly locally raised and grilled trout (Macedonian, rainbow or golden), farmed carp from Lake Tikveš breaded in cornmeal and imported sea fish (sea bass, gilthead bream and salmon). And also: good veal, baked potatoes, salads, roasted peppers, cheeses and homemade desserts. We love the terrace, but we're not crazy about the interior decor, with its stuffed bears and pelicans.

Located in Sermeninski/Серменин (8 inhabitants, 580 m above sea level), this restaurant serves 100% local cuisine: vegetables from the garden, deer or wild boar depending on the hunt, cheese, sausages, raki, ajvar and homemade desserts, crispy pork belly... You can also sleep on the spot, in five very simple rooms but with Wi-Fi and good bathrooms. You can enjoy the hamlet with its beautiful landscapes at the foot of the Dvete Uši mountain (1,720 m above sea level, in the west), its waterfall (Vodopad Vera) and its hiking trails along the very wild Sermeninska river.

In Debar Maalo, 300 m south of City Park, this family-run restaurant (Камин Чамо) has been an institution since 1989. A dozen tables, rustic decor and a small pine-covered fireplace that gives the establishment its name. Not much choice on the menu (in English), but authentic dishes: Albanian kukurec (lamb guts and offal on a spit), veal tongue fritters, tripe soup and drob sarma, a kind of moussaka with lamb liver, rice and spices. Bus: 8 or 15a on Ilinden Boulevard, "Gradski Park Fontana" stop.

The "two pearls" restaurant (Два Бисера) is one of the most famous on Lake Ohrid, especially for its grilled belvica or letnica trout and baked carp. Perfectly cooked, with a terrace and a warm welcome. You can even eat here by boat, as there's a pontoon for the purpose. The establishment also offers four rooms with lake views. This is where you can pick up the key to the Archangel Michael church when it's closed. Radožda's other two good fish restaurants are Albatros (Албатрос) and Letnica (Летница).

"À l'ombre des noyers" (Ореов Лад) is Skopje's oldest restaurant. Located in Saraj/Сарај, it was founded in 1880 and enjoys a superb garden... in the shade of walnut trees. Still run by the same family, it's a nice stopover on the way to Matka Canyon. It serves good quality traditional cuisine. But when the weather's fine, the place is often full at weekends. Four comfortable rooms are also available (facebook.com/KonakNestor, €29/34 for two with breakfast). Bus 2, 12, 56 or 60, "Rekreativen Tsentar Saraј" stop.

Located in a beautiful building dating back to 1836, the "old house" restaurant (Стара Куќа) is popular with expats and tourists alike for its wood-panelled decor and live folk music. On the menu are numerous Macedonian specialties, including meats and vegetables cooked in an earthen pan à l'étouffée. Be careful not to pay in euros, otherwise it's 10-20% more expensive. Access via Place Mère-Teresa, between the Philharmonic and the Opera.

The "Caravanserai Brasserie" (Пивница Ан) is an honest, quiet tourist restaurant located in Stara Čarsija, in the Kapan Caravanserai. The vaulted hall is magnificent and the terrace, very pleasant in fine weather. Here you'll find most of the great classics of Macedonian and Balkan cuisine: ajvar, pindjur, šopska salad, moussaka, tavče gravče, makalo, mućkalica... No worries: the menu is in English and everything is explained. It's pretty good and the waiters are pros. Fish: 1,200/2,000 MKD/kg. Breakfast until 1pm.

This "ranch" (Етно Ресторан Ранч) is a 7-hectare complex that includes, in addition to a good "ethnic" (understand "traditional") restaurant, a lake, a farm, an animal park, but also an accommodation part with an outdoor pool. The rooms are modern (Wifi, air conditioning...) and some of them are real apartments with kitchen. This is not a luxury, as the breakfast is really very optional: it depends on the time the staff arrives... But it is a good address for families with children who will appreciate the animals and the playground.

The restaurant "the little break" (Мал Oдмор) dates from the socialist period and enjoys a beautiful vaulted room as well as a large shaded terrace. The menu is long, but few dishes are usually available. In any case, one can try here the štipska pastrmajlija (штипска пастрмајлија), the local version of the "Macedonian pizza" which resembles the one in Kratovo (pork, peppers, chili), but without egg. No worries either about ordering typical stewed dishes, salads and some grilled meats. Aquatic center right next door.

This restaurant (Етноресторан Св. Петка) is one of the best in the region. It serves well-executed traditional Macedonian cuisine. On the menu: cheese pie(pleskavica), plenty of dishes cooked in earthenware vessels (including tavče gravče), assorted mezes, stuffed bread, whole piglet (to order), formage, burek, salads, meats, decent wines and cherry rakija. The owner's son, Viktor, speaks good English.

This cozy restaurant (Софра Вељанов) serves the traditional dishes of the country: turli tava (stew), tavče gravče (lingot beans with peppers), sausages, grilled meats, soups with meat or giblets(skembe čorba), etc. You can also try the homemade wine and the negotinska pita, the "Negotino pizza", all lengthy and topped with pork and cheese. In the morning, a solid breakfast with typical local doughnuts, pishii. On the parallel street, the restaurant Čardak (Чардак) offers much the same specialties.

This restaurant (Ресторан Билјанини Извори) is appreciated for its setting and the freshness of the Biljana "springs". According to legend, it was here that a young girl named Biljana once came to wash her clothes and, forgetting to turn off the water, gave birth overnight to Lake Ohrid. The establishment boasts a large shaded terrace lined with water and play areas. It serves good traditional cuisine. The same owner also owns the Belvedere restaurant, on the Makedonjia promenade near the port (same opening hours, menu and prices).

Set in a stone house, this pizzeria (Пицерија Ангела) is well placed with a terrace along the Black Drin promenade. It serves not only good pizzas, but also rather successful Italian-style pastas as well as a few local dishes: wild mushrooms sautéed in cream, spicy meat bowls(souflaka) and furnagiska, a variant of pastmalija (the national and traditional version of pizza) topped with pork or chicken. The pizza oven is also used to bake homemade bread. There are occasional evening concerts.

Here you can enjoy grilled fish and meat, pizzas and rolls baked in a wood-fired oven. The restaurant is especially worth a visit for its shaded terrace offering a breathtaking view of Lake Debar. Right next door, between the power station and the restaurant, there's a weir on the lake shore. This is a huge water discharge pipe, installed here to relieve the dam in the event of flooding. Built vertically, this type of system gives the impression of a huge hole in the surface of the lake as soon as the water levels rise.

This restaurant (Летна Бавча Канео) enjoys a beautiful setting on the shores of Lake Ohrid and beneath the magnificent Church of St. John in Kaneo. It features mainly fish and seafood such as Ohrid trout, Mediterranean turbot and mussels from Butrint (Albania). The cuisine is quite elaborate, with dishes such as ravioli with shrimp, truffle and foie gras, pasta with lobster, strawberries with pepper and vanilla ice cream. The wine list includes a selection of the best bottles from the country's top estates. Efficient service.

This restaurant (Ресторан Саваро) is located on the banks of the Bergalnica River, 10 km south of Lake Kalimanci. Fish from the river and the lake are the specialty here, especially carp cut into pieces and fried and grilled trout. They also serve small "mezzes" (avjar, cheeses...) a very good tripe soup(škembići) as well as salads, grilled meat, dishes simmered in earthenware dishes and wines from Povardaria. Fast service, room with rustic decor, large garden with lawn and children's playground.

Established in 2012, this winery is especially worthwhile for its restaurant: local and Mediterranean cuisine, cheese and cured ham plates, lovely setting in the middle of vineyards. As far as wines are concerned, we are here in the wine region of Skopje. The domain has more than 100 ha of vineyards and produces about 70 000 liters per year: riesling, chardonnay and sauvignon. It also buys pinot noir and gris from the sunnier region of Gevgelija. The nearby hamlet of Sopot has nothing to do with the wine village of the same name, 7 km north of Kavadarci.

This restaurant (Мерак) is set along the Treska River, at the entrance to the village of Popolžani/Пополжани (approx. 110 Macedonian inhabitants). Some tables are set directly on the water's edge, while others are spread between sheds and the main wooden building built in the čardak style. The cuisine here is traditional: grilled meats of all kinds, casseroles, mushrooms, cheeses and salads. On the whole, it's not bad. But it's above all for the setting that we recommend this address.

This restaurant offers simple and tasty cuisine made with "love"(agapi in Greek), to be enjoyed in the shade of a "maple tree"(javor in Slavic): beautiful juicy tomatoes, garden salad, fresh sheep's cheese, homemade sausages, stuffed vegetables, carp from Lake Dojran, lamb on the spit, and, the specialty of the establishment, melting veal cooked under a cast-iron bell(jagnjetina ispod sača). Opened in 1984 and now run by sisters Biljana and Marija Mitrova, Javor Agapi/Јавор Агапи is an institution in Northern Macedonia.

Cheaper but just as well placed as the Letna Bavča Kaneo restaurant, this establishment (Кај Каневче/Kaj Kanevče) has a beautiful terrace between the small beaches of Kaneo and Potpeš. It offers popular and traditional cuisine. The menu ranges from Ohrid trout and carp to dishes prepared in earthenware dishes(tavče gravče, ohridski čomlek, turli tava...). The wine list is decent, without more. But vegetarians will appreciate the wide choice of salads (we stopped counting beyond ten).

Founded in 1995, the "Fisherman" (Рибар/Ribar) is one of the region's most renowned fish restaurants, with a terrace and prices right on the water. Trout and carp from Lake Ohrid are presented by friendly, English-speaking waiters before being grilled. The cooking is perfect. The salads are also very good, prepared with vegetables from the garden. On the other hand, the meats (apart from roast chicken) are of limited interest. But that's not why we come here. In fact, the only real drawback is that it's often full in summer.

This bar-restaurant in Stara Čaršija (Ракија Бар Калдрма) is located straight past the footbridge spanning Goce-Delčev Boulevard. It serves some fifty rakijas from North Macedonia and the Balkans, with plum, apricot, herbs, nuts, honey and more. The best and most expensive is from the Serbian Vučija distillery in Subotica: 800 MKD for 4 cl. All this can be accompanied by cheeses, mezzés or dishes like a tavče gravče. The atmosphere is nice and musicians come to play every evening.

This good restaurant (фук-Tак) is one of the oldest and best known in the country. It was founded in 1884, during the construction of the Thessaloniki-Alexandroupoli railway line that passes through Doïrani, Greece. Its strange name comes from the noise, then new to the locals, of the trains rattling on the rails: "fouk-tak, fouk-tak". The specialty here is fish, especially lake carp, served smoked, stewed, fried, grilled, in soup, etc. Its eggs are also found in "caviar" in a surprising but delicious burger.

Founded in 1977 by local singer Jovan "Šape" Zdraveski, this restaurant (Ресторан Шапе) is Kruševo's most famous address. Still run by the Zdraveski family, the establishment offers plenty of grills, stews and local specialties like kruševska pita (spinach, greens, cheese). It also serves pizzas, salads, breakfasts and sandwiches. A guitar and photos of the musician's ancestor are part of the warm decor. Large terrace overlooking the street on the second floor. Ski rental in winter.

This café-grocery (Bakkal-Kahve) offers Turkish-style tea and coffee, as well as burgers and kebabs. There's nothing charming about the place, but it does have a terrace. In any case, it's one of the few shops in Kodžadžik. More stores, cafés and restaurants can be found in the villages of Centar Župa (approx. 350 inhabitants, 8 km to the northwest) and Novak (approx. 750 inhabitants, 2 km to the southeast). But as far as we know, there is no tourist accommodation in this mainly Turkish-speaking region to the east of Lake Debar.

Founded in 1960, this restaurant (Ресторанот Острово) enjoys a superb setting, on one of the islands of the small Lake Ostrovo, right next to the St. Naum monastery. Fish specialties from Lake Ohrid and a whole range of typical local dishes are served here. Our tip in summer: arrive early or make a reservation to enjoy one of the tables set up on the pontoons. The hotel offers boat trips on Lake Ostrovo and modern, well-equipped apartments at Villa Risteski in Ljubaništa ([email protected]).

Set beneath Mount Galičica, this restaurant (Домаќинска Куќа) has a terrace with a grand view of Lake Ohrid, the town and Mount Jablanica. It serves good, rustic home cooking: burek, shopska salad, sausages, tavče gravče, Ohrid trout, grilled vegetables, cheeses... You can also have a solid breakfast here (omelette or scrambled eggs with vegetables) or simply a drink between courses. It's simple, inexpensive and the staff are friendly. Otherwise, another "classier" option, in Velestovo: the Bravo restaurant (Браво).

This traditional restaurant (Етно Вила Весница) is pleasant in summer with its garden, children's playground and tables set in wooden sheds. The traditional menu is expensive by local standards, but it is very hearty and prepared with fresh produce from Skopska Crna Gora: homemade bread and pita, ajvar or pindjur, six different small salads, cheese, two simmering meat dishes and a dessert. The staff encourages you to take one menu per person. This is too much. If there are two of you, take one, plus an a la carte dish.

This fish restaurant is set on the shore of a lake, but not the one in Dojran: on the shore of the small artificial lake of Crničani. So you might as well say that here you are away from the hustle and bustle in the middle of summer. The place is all the more pleasant when you eat outside, in the big garden. Well, okay, the fish are sometimes a bit fatty (100% farmed), but they are well grilled. You can choose between carp, catfish, trout... and even salmon. Also on the menu: grilled meats, game, good garden salads, crispy fries and house wine.